Question

how many primary tectonic plates make up the surface on earth

Answer 1

The Earth is generally considered to have 15 major tectonic plates, seven or eight of which are primary plates, and the others are smaller, secondary plates. The primary plates are the African Plate, the Antarctic Plate, the Eurasian Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, the North American Plate, the Pacific Plate and the South American Plate, with the Nazca Plate sometimes considered a primary plate instead of a secondary plate. The secondary plates are the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Indian Plate, the Juan de Fuca Plate, the Philippine Sea Plate, the Scotia Plate and sometimes the Nazca Plate. In addition, there are dozens of minor, tertiary plates. Just as there is no consensus about whether the Nazca Plate is a primary or secondary plate, there is no agreement about exactly how many tertiary plates there are, but scientists have identified about 58 of them.